Electrically heated de-icer for roof drip edge

ABSTRACT

A drip edge device for a roof which includes a panel having top and bottom surfaces, the panel having an integrally formed flange protruding downwardly from the bottom surface, with the flange arranged so that an inner side can locate against a roof edge when an inner planar portion of the panel extends under roofing material adjacent the roof edge, and a lip also integrally formed with the device and positioned outwardly of the flange so as to form, together with the outer side of the flange and the bottom surface of an outer portion of the panel, a recess for a heating cable. At least one of the flange and lip are resilient and provide a restricted entry into the recess such that the recess can retain a heating cable sized to fit the recess when such cable has been pushed laterally into the recess.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electrically heated plastic drip edge device for de-icing the outer edge of a roof.

2. Prior Art

In cold climates it is common for ice dams to occur at the edges of a building roof, causing water and ice to work up beneath shingles or other roofing material and allowing water to seep into the building. Also, ice dams may form in a gutter under the edge of the roof, blocking the gutter and resulting in heavy accumulation of ice and water and causing damage. Flow of water in a gutter is also frequently impeded by leaves and such-like debris which falls into the gutter.

Many proposals have been made to alleviate these problems. Drip edges have been provided to prevent water from flowing onto the facia. For the ice dams, the proposals usually include heating cables at the drip edge or in the gutter, or both. In addition, gutter protectors have been used which prevent debris such as leaves from falling into the gutter. Representative U.S. patents which show heating cables used for drip edges, and gutter protectors, are as follows:

U.S. Pat. No. 6,759,630, issued Jul. 6, 2004 to Tenute;

U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,453, issued Mar. 23, 2004 to Tenute;

U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,352, issued Dec. 26, 2000 to Turton;

U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,533, issued Mar. 9, 1999 to Swanfeld, Jr.;

U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,858, issued Feb. 21, 1995 to Tourangeau et al.;

U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,526, issued Sep. 6, 1988 to Taouil;

U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,657, issued Mar. 28, 1978 to Stanford;

U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,512, issued Jun. 28, 1974 to Stanford, and

U.S. Pat. No. 2,699,484, issued Jan. 11, 1955 to Michaels.

A common problem with the prior art represented by these patents, particularly in relation to the drip edge heaters, is the difficulty of replacing the electrical heater or cable in the event of its failure. In the Turton patent the whole mat of electrically heated material would need to be removed from underneath the outermost shingle edges and replaced. In most of the other patents the drip edge heater at least needs to be removed temporarily in order to replace the cables. An exception is the Tenute '453 patent where, in the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodiments, the cable can be replaced by removing a protective cap which is held in place by screws, but even here the replacement of the cable would involve tools and a somewhat tedious procedure.

An opportunity exists to provide an improved drip edge device that has advantages over the prior art.

The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention in its broadest and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims that conclude this Specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a drip edge device for a roof includes, according to one aspect:

a panel, preferably of plastic material, having top and bottom surfaces, the panel having an integrally formed flange protruding downwardly from said bottom surface, with the flange arranged so that an inner side thereof can locate against a roof edge when an inner portion of the panel extends under shingles or other roofing material adjacent the roof edge;

a lip also integrally formed with the device and positioned outwardly of the flange so as to form, together with portions of the outer side of the flange and the bottom surface of the panel, a recess for a heating cable,

at least one of said flange and lip being resilient and providing a grasping restricted entry into the recess such that the recess can retain a heating cable sized to fit the recess when such cable has been pushed into the recess.

The panel is preferably integrally formed from polymeric plastic material by extrusion, having sufficient thickness and rigidity to perform its function as a drip edge, preferably. In order to give suitable conduction of heat from the heating cable to parts where the heat is required, a panel thickness combined with thermal conductivity is chosen. The device may be extruded from most commodity olefin resins such as rigid polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polystyrene or ABS. The thermal conductivity of such plastics is generally intermediate to that of wood and metals.

Preferably, the flange or lip forming sides of the heating cable recess include a rib or detent which is combined with a restricted entry into the cable recess so that the recess can resiliently and more effectively retain the heating cable, but allow the cable to be pulled out laterally when a replacement is needed. Accordingly, with the invention, when it is required to replace a heating cable the cable is simply pulled-out through the open side of the cable recess and a replacement cable is pushed into this recess. No tools are required.

Preferably also, the drip edge device of this invention includes a portion of the panel which projects partly over a gutter underlying the drip edge device, providing some restriction to the entry of debris into the gutter.

As can be seen, the invention previously described provides a electrically heated de-icer for a roof drip edge which fully addresses needs as described in the Background of the Invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a first Form of the drip edge device and associated roof parts;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view through the drip edge device and roof parts of FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale, and without the gutter, and

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2 of an alternative embodiment corresponding to FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the drip edge device 10 is an extrusion of plastic material having a generally planar panel 12 with top and bottom surfaces, an inner or rear portion 12 a adjacent to the roof, an outer or front portion 12 b, and a flange 14 protruding downwardly from the lower surface at the junction of the inner and outer portions. The flange and inner portion of the panel between them preferably define an angle slightly more than a right angle, and are arranged so that when the inner portion 12 a of the panel is located on the outer edge section of roof boards R, under a row of shingles S indicated in FIG. 2, the rear side of the flange 14 can locate against the outer edge Re of the roof. The front or outer portion 12 b of the panel overlies about a portion of the gutter eg one inch over the gutter G.

The flange 14 may have a lower extension which terminates in a forwards sloping terminating ledge 14 a which helps to direct water into the gutter G. This, and the fact that the angle between the flange 14 and the rear portion 12 a is larger than a right angle, ensures that water is kept away from underlying wood.

An independent lip 16, separate from flange 14, extends down from a location on the front panel portion 12 b spaced in front of the flange 14, so that the flange and lip 16 are roughly parallel to each other. The flange 14 and lip 16, together with the underside of the outer panel portion 12 b, provide a recess into which heating cable 18 can be placed. A small optional rib 14 b may project from the front of the flange 14 at about the level of the bottom of lip 16, and this, together with an inwardly inclined lower portion of the lip provides a restricted inlet for the recess so that the cable 18, upon being pushed into the recess, is held against falling out by this restricted inlet and the resiliency of the parts.

The cable, which is preferably flat or oval, is replaceable by being pulled laterally out of the recess.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of an alternate form of this drip edge heater 20 corresponding to FIG. 1. This drip edge also has a planar, integral extruded plastic body 12 with rear or inner portion 12 a extending under shingles S with a front or outer portion 12 b projecting partly over gutter G. The flange 14 is similar to flange 14 of the first embodiment, having a forwardly inclined lower ledge 14 a. However, in the case of FIG. 3 a lip 26 protrudes from the front of the flange 14, and has, spaced below the front portion 12 b of the panel 12, an internal raised rib or detent 26 a. The lip 26 defines, with the undersurface of the panel portion 12 b and the front side of the flange 14, a forwardly open recess for reception of heating cable 18 which is preferably flat or oval. The rib 26 a provides a narrowed entrance into the recess so that the cable 18 is normally grasped and retained by the rib but is removable through the open side of the recess by resilient flexing of the parts.

Conclusion

The foregoing has constituted a description of specific embodiments showing how the invention may be applied and put into use. These embodiments are only exemplary. The invention in its broadest, and more specific aspects is further described and defined in the claims, which now follow.

These claims, and the language used therein, are to be understood in terms of the variants of the invention which have been described. They are not to be restricted to such variants, but are to be read as covering the full scope of the invention as is implicit within the invention and the disclosure that has been provided herein. 

1. A drip edge device for a roof including: a panel having top and bottom surfaces, the panel having an integrally formed flange protruding downwardly from said bottom surface, with the flange arranged so that an inner side thereof can locate against a roof edge when an inner planar portion of the panel extends under shingles or other roofing material adjacent the roof edge, and a lip also integrally formed with the device and positioned with respect to the flange so as to form, together with portions of the outer side of the flange and the bottom surface of an outer portion of the panel, a recess for a heating cable; at least one of said flange and lip being resilient and providing a restricted entry into the recess such that the recess can retain a heating cable sized to fit the recess when such cable has been pushed laterally into the recess.
 2. A drip edge according to claim 1, wherein said lip protrudes downwardly from said outer part of the panel at a location spaced from the flange to provide said recess between the lip and flange.
 3. A drip edge according to claim 1, wherein said lip protrudes from the outer side of the flange and is spaced from the bottom surface of the outer portion of said panel to provide said recess.
 4. The drip edge combination according to claim 1, wherein the panel is an integral extrusion of polymeric plastic material.
 5. The drip edge combination according to claim 2, wherein the panel is an integral extrusion of polymeric plastic material.
 6. The drip edge combination according to claim 3, wherein the panel is an integral extrusion of polymeric plastic material.
 7. A drip edge device for a roof formed as an integral extrusion of polymeric plastic material and including: a panel having top and bottom surfaces, the panel having an integrally formed flange protruding downwardly from said bottom surface, with the flange arranged so that an inner side thereof can locate against a roof edge when an inner planar portion of the panel extends under shingles or other roofing material adjacent the roof edge while an outer portion of the panel projects in front of the flange, and a lip protruding from the outer side of the flange so as to form, together with portions of the outer side of the flange and the bottom surface of an outwardly protruding portion of the outer portion of the panel, a recess for a heating cable; at least one of said flange and lip being resilient and providing a restricted entry into the recess such that the recess can retain a heating cable sized to fit the recess when such cable has been pushed laterally into the recess.
 8. A drip edge according to claim 7, wherein said outwardly protruding portion of said panel extends beyond said lip to provide a drip edge that is outwardly spaced from said recess
 9. A drip edge device as in claim 7, wherein said flange includes a forward sloping, terminating ledge.
 10. A drip edge device as in claim 8, wherein said flange includes a forward sloping, terminating ledge.
 11. A drip edge device as in claim 7, wherein said lip includes an internal raised rib.
 12. A drip edge device as in claim 8, wherein said lip includes an internal raised rib.
 13. A drip edge device as in claim 9, wherein said lip includes an internal raised rib.
 14. A drip edge device as in claim 10, wherein said lip includes an internal raised rib.
 15. A drip edge device as in claim 11, wherein said lip includes an internal raised rib. 